What did I think of Kiowa? It needs to improve in some areas!

[LazyLightning91]

Damn, this is a bummer. As fun as it sounds to fly, and as much as I want to shoot the M4 from the cockpit, I'm not buying this until it improves, especially for $70.

Plenty of other helicopters in DCS that are a joy to fly, so I'll stick with those for now.

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, ThorBrasil said:

It's a bug. In the full module there is sound, but the sounds seem a little low. In my video the sounds are at the maximum preset.

But I see you have sound (you have the module), I havent module and new A.I. model doesnt have any sound of the rotor, only the wind. You can't even hear anything from the front.

null

[ThorBrasil]

1 minute ago, YoYo said:

But I see you have sound (you have the module), I havent module and new A.I. model doesnt have any sound of the rotor, only the wind. You can't even hear anything from the front.

null

Yes! Before purchasing the module I had no sound. Only after purchasing the module did the sound appear in the IA.

[kotor633]

I also treated myself to this module. And have completed my first sightseeing flight on the Syria map. I have only spent about an hour with the module (start-up and sightseeing flight). And I have to say: my favorite module, the Mi-24, has some tough competition. One small thing I would like to thank Polychop for is that they have added a larger selection of callsigns to the mission editor (Uzi, Colt, Pontiac,... I can't hear it anymore!) Thanks Polychop. 2 things that should be changed, in my opinion: This comic style on the loading screen (I personally don't like it). And if there was an option where these masks could be deactivated for the pilots (e.g. similar to the Mirage F1 'Radar cover removed by default').

[YoYo]

11 minutes ago, ThorBrasil said:

Yes! Before purchasing the module I had no sound. Only after purchasing the module did the sound appear in the IA.

Ok, I added it to bug section but for DCS, not PC, because its related to the AI model for everyone, not just for module owners.

 

[Slippa]

Haven’t had a chance to fly it yet, I got as far as a few bindings and had to get busy.

Cheers for posting the videos. Gutting to see though, it’s not ready. The sounds are off. Gun sounds cut abruptly and sound like a lazy sample to me so work to be done on the sounds and where’s the damage modelling?

Hope it’s better to use than it seems but it doesn’t look ready. Agree, this should still be EA. Maybe I was a bit too eager to try it.

[YoYo]

About textures (ok, screenies are from VR) you can actually see some vector nature in them, but generally are not bad if you look at them from a little distance but not too close.

(External AI model)

Edited June 5, 2024 by YoYo

[AdrianL]

10 minutes ago, kotor633 said:

masks could be deactivated for the pilots

By default, RSHIFT+F . Key bind in 'FACE MASK - ON/OFF'

If you press for the pilot it will remove his face mask. Then jump into the co-pilot seat and repeat if you want it off for him.

[YoYo]

3 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

 

You zoom in on the rotor several times, may I know why? Do you mean animation? 

It actually looks good for me, this part of working rotor is blurred like in Apache. This animation is flawless in my opinion. 

[ricktoberfest]

I guess I just don’t fit in with the new breed of sim player. I don’t own the Kiowa, nor do I plan at this time to buy it. I also don’t understand the trend of cinematic videos and screenshotting everything to post. I buy modules (to pretend) to fly them- not stare at them on a screen

[Teeps]

You guys are a demanding bunch, aren't you?  I like it personally, and I would not try to put anyone off the purchase.  Of course, it's your money, so you can make your own choice...

[Jarhead0331]

I dunno? If its good enough for Casmo, its good enough for me.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

4 minutes ago, Jarhead0331 said:

I dunno? If its good enough for Casmo, its good enough for me.

Exactly. My comments earlier are nitpicks. The only thing that really annoys me is the almost absent sound from the own-ship. Even AI Apaches flying miles in front of me are far louder than the sound of my own helo.

I really hope that gets fixed asap, since it's important for immersion. The other things can wait

Edited June 5, 2024 by Raven (Elysian Angel)

[Mainstay]

No its not.... if beauty aint your thing go ahead and fly the thing. But personally i demand topnotch textures for a topnotch dollar price.

Im done with halfbaked modules.....

[Ebphoto]

So I was messing around with the sounds and my headset I'm wearing and then remembered in the settings you can select to have the engine etc. sound like if you have a flight helmet on. When I deselected that because I forgot I had this on, the sound improved quite a bit. Still on the quiet side in my opinion but it made the helo much louder and the overall sounds improve. So try that and see if it helps you at all.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

2 minutes ago, Ebphoto said:

So try that and see if it helps you at all.

Thing is, I really don't feel like adjusting my settings on a per-module basis. Ideally every single module in DCS would be at the exact same volume so that we can adjust our settings for optimal immersion while also not angering our neighbours.
As I said above: AI helicopters flying miles ahead of me are louder than the helo I am sitting in, without doors... That's an issue that should be fixed.

[Mistermann]

1 minute ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Thing is, I really don't feel like adjusting my settings on a per-module basis. Ideally every single module in DCS would be at the exact same volume so that we can adjust our settings for optimal immersion while also not angering our neighbours.
As I said above: AI helicopters flying miles ahead of me are louder than the helo I am sitting in, without doors... That's an issue that should be fixed.

100% agree.  I came here to provide similar feedback and see the muted sound experience is being discussed.  I'd really be interested to hear @Casmo take on this.  

[dresoccer4]

Really disappointed in the low-res textures for a $70 product being discussed on here. Very surprised by this compared to every other recent DCS release. Maybe it's a bug?

[ThorBrasil]

41 minutes ago, YoYo said:

You zoom in on the rotor several times, may I know why? Do you mean animation? 

It actually looks good for me, this part of working rotor is blurred like in Apache. This animation is flawless in my opinion. 

There appears to be a texture problem.

31 minutes ago, Teeps said:

You guys are a demanding bunch, aren't you?  I like it personally, and I would not try to put anyone off the purchase.  Of course, it's your money, so you can make your own choice...

I'm not going to stop anyone from buying. Everyone knows what they do with their money.

31 minutes ago, Jarhead0331 said:

I dunno? If its good enough for Casmo, its good enough for me.

If he jumps off the bridge, will you jump too?

[YoYo]

14 minutes ago, ThorBrasil said:

There appears to be a texture problem.

Ahh, ok I see it,  but overall it looks similar to AH-64 and the animation itself is very ok.

Edited June 5, 2024 by YoYo

[Jarhead0331]

16 minutes ago, ThorBrasil said:

 

If he jumps off the bridge, will you jump too?

That is a pretty bone-headed comment. The guy flew Kiowas for over 10 years and has commented that he likes it and that it rivals and in some areas even surpasses anything they had in the Army to train with. What are your bonafides, being a career complainer?

[Yurgon]

Such a fascinating discussion.

Is there room for improvement? Sure, there always is. Interestingly enough, I think some of the buttons and panels in the cockpit might do with a few more polygons and maybe better textures, especially towards the overhead and back panels. The external model? Looks amazing to me! If this was ARMA and we'd be walking right next to a KW, sure, it would probably be nice if it had a higher level of detail. But in DCS? I have to zoom in all the way for the textures and the 3D model to not look great. Which I tend to do like once or twice, the rest of the time I sit in the cockpit, stare at the gauges and fly the thing.

It also sounds good to me. Can't say the sound-scape blows my mind, but there's also absolutely nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell. Maybe it's my headset? My sound settings (which are like 98% default)? My bad ears? Hard to tell. It just sounds really good to me.

For several hours I've been flashed by how great this release is in my opinion, how many systems are included, how well they work, and how totally awesome the flight model is and how much fun it is to fly in MP and to use the KW to its strengths.

And here's a thread with players saying they'll hold off on purchasing because of, almost literally, rivet counting?

I just wish you guys could feel how much fun it is to fly the KW.

And disclaimer, I'm not getting paid to say any of this, I really just think Polychop did a fantastic job with this module and it's among the best and most finished releases in DCS history. Again, there's room for improvement, there always is. But I feel players who're unhappy about the KW will be unhappy about anything and everything.

[ECTAE]

 

2 minutes ago, Yurgon said:

I just wish you guys could feel how much fun it is to fly the KW.

 

Yeah....I finally got it... and tbh its quite fun to fly. Textures don't look as bad as I thought. Most important thing for me, the flight model is worth the price.

[Romandv]

Just look at when the first development news was, it's just been a long time, so the textures may not be up to date. If the module flies and works well, but expectations of graphics were a bit different, it's better that way than the other way around.

[Kovacs]

8 minutes ago, Yurgon said:

Such a fascinating discussion.

Is there room for improvement? Sure, there always is. Interestingly enough, I think some of the buttons and panels in the cockpit might do with a few more polygons and maybe better textures, especially towards the overhead and back panels. The external model? Looks amazing to me! If this was ARMA and we'd be walking right next to a KW, sure, it would probably be nice if it had a higher level of detail. But in DCS? I have to zoom in all the way for the textures and the 3D model to not look great. Which I tend to do like once or twice, the rest of the time I sit in the cockpit, stare at the gauges and fly the thing.

It also sounds good to me. Can't say the sound-scape blows my mind, but there's also absolutely nothing wrong with it as far as I can tell. Maybe it's my headset? My sound settings (which are like 98% default)? My bad ears? Hard to tell. It just sounds really good to me.

For several hours I've been flashed by how great this release is in my opinion, how many systems are included, how well they work, and how totally awesome the flight model is and how much fun it is to fly in MP and to use the KW to its strengths.

And here's a thread with players saying they'll hold off on purchasing because of, almost literally, rivet counting?

I just wish you guys could feel how much fun it is to fly the KW.

And disclaimer, I'm not getting paid to say any of this, I really just think Polychop did a fantastic job with this module and it's among the best and most finished releases in DCS history. Again, there's room for improvement, there always is. But I feel players who're unhappy about the KW will be unhappy about anything and everything.

Totally agree, what a wonderful module. And what a thrill to make it fly!